Boris Brush's brooming army: does big clean-up equal Big Society?

The courts are creaking, the politicians are politicking and the dust is settling in the aftermath of an extraordinary week of civil unrest — or what some consider outright thuggery — on the streets of major UK cities. Everyone is beginning to ask the question: why and how did this happen?

One of the more positive things to emerge from a week of violence and tragedy has been the sight of community members coming together to clean up their streets with whatever they could find. After years of trying to promote this kind of communal activity on London's streets, it was heartening to see this spontaneous collective action. It turns out that the most effective prompt for community clean-up was not a mascot in a cigarette butt costume — it was Twitter, and specifically the hashtag #riotcleanup.

Much of this civic activity was actually co-ordinated in much the same way as the destructive action the previous night: through social media. An army of locals armed with brooms and bin bags materialised with remarkable speed. London's mayor, Boris Johnson, joined a clean-up with brush in hand, only to be met by angry residents pointing to cuts at the Metropolitan Police and what they saw as a weak initial police response.

Politicians were quick to point to the clean-ups as a fine example of Big Society and the Blitz Spirit. However, colleagues at local authorities suggest the environmental damage and cost of clearing up was not that significant — the destruction was mostly concentrated on high streets, which receive daily attention regardless. The marigolds can probably stay in the drawer for now.